Facing Africa needs volunteers!

• Plastic surgeons
• Maxillo Facial surgeons
• Cranio Facial surgeons
• Anaesthetists
• Scrub nurses
• Ward nurses
• Junior Doctors (7 weeks at the Cheshire Home)

Facing Africa funds and organises two team visits each year to Ethiopia and relies on the goodwill and skills of volunteers in the above fields of medicine.

Requirements

Surgeons and anaesthetists must be 'consultant level'

Nurses must have good and long experience in wards with wound care and organisational skills.

Team visits last for two weeks. We cannot accept volunteers for shorter periods.

Each trip is usually made up of 4 surgeons, 2 anaesthetists, 2 ward nurses, 2 scrub nurses and an anaesthetic assistant. Two junior doctors are also required (see below)

For the time being, all reconstructive surgery is carried out at the MCM Korean Hospital in Addis Ababa which is well equipped by Africa standards. Accommodation is provided for all team members in the guest wing of the MCM Hospital in modern apartments , each with 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen and sitting room area.

Teaching Ethiopians

Surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses are also expected to teach local staff with regular presentations ( short lectures and power point presentations) on surgery, anaesthesia, nursing, hygiene.

English is spoken by Ethiopian doctors, anaesthetists and surgeons. Nurses mostly have limited linguistic skills and must be guided and taught using very simple and short sentences. Ethiopians are keen and willing to learn better skills and new techniques.

Each team member will be expected to send a written report to Facing Africa within 4 weeks of their return from Ethiopia.

How to apply

Volunteers must send the following:-

• Up to date CV
• Nationality
• Personal profile
• Details of any overseas missions
• Contact details ( postal address, phone numbers and e-mail)

Volunteers are expected to inform their friends, family and colleagues of their commitments to take part in any Facing Africa surgical mission and try to generate donations and sponsorship for Facing Africa. Also informing local and national press for media coverage. Most hospitals have their own PR officer who can also help with publicity and fund raising.

Wherever and whenever possible, contacts with pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of surgical equipment and consumables should be used to acquire donated items for the mission.

What is provided by Facing Africa

• Return flights from London or other European airports to Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines in economy class.
• Ground transportation throughout the mission
• Accommodation at the hospital Guest wing
• All meals ( but not alcoholic drinks in restaurants)
• Basic travel insurance ( unless already held )
• Excess baggage for any equipment or consumables taken to Ethiopia.

Not paid by Facing Africa

• Travel to and from home to airport
• Optional week-end excursions in Ethiopia. The middle week-end (Sat & Sun) are free days when team members can opt to spend a night at Lake Langano or visiting the ancient underground churches at Lalibela
• Laundry while in Ethiopia

Some recent photos of the accomodation used by the Facing Africa teams at the Korean Hospital Guest Wing.

 

 

 

 

Husbands, wives, girl/boy friends

We are unable to agree to team members travelling with their loved ones, even if they offer to pay their own way, so please don't ask. However, if you want to invite someone to join you in Addis at the end of the mission and extend your stay for a few extra days to visit other parts of Ethiopia, Facing Africa can book your return flight accordingly.

Important

Each team will ALWAYS include at least one surgeon who has previous experience of noma missions in Africa. Volunteers are welcome to apply from any country in Europe. Volunteers from North and South America, Australia or New Zealand are also welcome but will have to pay their own fares to London.

Our missions are very much based on 'team spirit', so it is extremely important that everyone enters with the ethos of a team and not as an individual. Close co-operation and discussion between team members is critical.

Junior Doctors

Each mission is accompanied by 2 doctors, usually junior doctors who are required to spend 7 weeks in Ethiopia. Their function is to prepare all the patients two weeks prior to the arrival of the surgical team, carrying out screening, teaching basic hygiene, taking patients to the hospital for X-rays, CT scans , blood tests, preparing medical notes and observations etc. During the 2-week surgical period they have to organise transfer of patients to the hospital for their operations and then remain for a further 3 weeks taking care of post op' wounds, infections, feeding etc. A total of 7 weeks.

The two doctors will be based at the Cheshire Rehabilitation Centre, located about 25 miles outside Addis Ababa in a rural countryside setting . They will have opportunities to spend occasional days at the Hospital watching and possibly assisting in the surgery, but it must be clearly understood that Facing Africa has made an undertaking to have at least one qualified doctor at all times at the Cheshire Rehab' Centre. Accommodation and meals are provided at the Cheshire throughout the 7 weeks. Facing Africa also arranges for an Ethiopian dentist to spend the first 2 weeks at The Cheshire to carry out basic dental care, scaling etc.

More information

If you feel that this is a worthwhile and interesting opportunity that you would like to take part in, please let me have the required information. Please feel free to phone or e-mail me with any questions you may have.

Chris Lawrence
Chairman & Trustee

Tel: 01380 827038
Mobile: 07748 180700
e-mail: chris@facingafrica.org

Junior Doctor job Description

Opportunity for a junior Doctor in Ethiopia. Two Junior Doctors needed for Facing Africa commencing 13th January 2011.

Facing Africa- a charity specialising in the treatment of Noma, as well as facial trauma, tumours and burns is looking for 2 junior doctors with between 2-5 years of postgraduate experience. Facing Africa sends 3 surgical missions a year to Addis Ababa to operate on patients found by local staff. Two junior doctors are based at the Cheshire home facility in Mengaesha, 45 minutes outside Addis Ababa and are needed for a number of roles including pre-operative assessment and optimisation prior to surgery, ensuring adequate nutritional status of patients, presentation of patients to the surgical team on their arrival and departure, wound management pre and post operatively as well as other roles. The post is for 8 weeks full time and would be suitable to those looking for an experience of health and medicine in the developing world as well as those with an interest in plastic and reconstructive surgery as a career. Experience in plastic and reconstructive or maxillofacial surgery is desirable but not essential. Flights, accommodation and food are all fully paid for.

The team of 4 surgeons, 3 anaesthetists, ward and OR nurses (mostly from Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital) will arrive in Addis on 29th Jan and operate at the MCM Hospital for two weeks. The two junior doctors will have opportunities to observe and assist on occasional days.

This is a challenging but extremely fulfilling opportunity for anyone who wants to experience healthcare in a developing country.

Junior Doctor:

• Unpacking stored equipment and setting up the nurses room
• Organisation of patients- personal effects as given by FA
• Education of Local Nursing staff
• Liaison with local Nursing and other staff
• Organisation of the FA rooms at the Cheshire including the nurses station and patients arriving on the day of the surgical team
• Wound Management -pre and post operatively
• Bed Management and Site management for the FA patients at the Cheshire
• Health Promotion and prevention activities including Health education talks
• Support and Education for the Junior Doctors that are part of the team
• Playing football, volleyball etc with the younger patients
• Transportation of patients to and from MCM Korean hospital in Addis for registration, blood tests, X rays and CT scans.
• Ensuring adequate nutrition for all patients throughout their stay
• Clerking patients who will stay at the Cheshire home pre-operatively
• Presentation of patients to the surgical team on their arrival to the cheshire and their departure
• Contacting the surgical team post op with any complications
• Participation in organisational development of FA at the Cheshire home as necessary.

Please send your CV and any other useful information to chris@facingafrica.org. If you have had any previous experience working in the developing world, please let us have details.

Experienced Nurse - Job Description

Ethiopia, Jan 2011

Opportunity for an experienced nurse in Ethiopia. Needed for Facing Africa commencing 13th January 2011 for 8 weeks.

Facing Africa- a charity specialising in the treatment of Noma, as well as facial trauma, tumours and burns is looking for a very experienced nurse with previous experience in wound management, ideally head and neck. Facing Africa sends 3 surgical missions a year to Addis Ababa to operate on patients found by local staff. Two junior doctors and a nurse are based at the Cheshire home facility in Mengaesha, 45 minutes outside Addis Ababa and are needed for a number of roles including pre-operative assessment and optimisation prior to surgery, ensuring adequate nutritional status of patients, presentation of patients to the surgical team on their arrival and departure, wound management pre and post operatively as well as other roles. The post is for 8 weeks full time and would be suitable to those looking for an experience of health and medicine in the developing world. Flights, accommodation and food are all fully paid for.

The team of 4 plastic and maxillofacial surgeons, 3 anaesthetists, ward and OR nurses (mostly from Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital) will arrive in Addis on 29th Jan and operate at the MCM Hospital for two weeks. This is a purely voluntary ( unpaid) position.

This is a challenging but extremely fulfilling opportunity for anyone who wants to experience healthcare in a developing country.

Essential qualities needed: organizational ability, stamina, pre & post-op wound care experience, ability to work independently, loads of common sense, practical and team spirit

Job description ( shared with the two Jr doctors)

• Unpacking stored equipment and setting up the nurses room
• Organisation of patients- personal effects as given by FA
• Education of Local Nursing staff
• Liaison with local Nursing and other staff
• Organisation of the FA rooms at the Cheshire including the nurses station and patients arriving on the day of the surgical team
• Wound Management -pre and post operatively
• Bed Management and Site management for the FA patients at the Cheshire
• Health Promotion and prevention activities including Health education talks
• Support and Education for the Junior Doctors that are part of the team
• Playing football, volleyball etc with the younger patients
• Transportation of patients to and from MCM Korean hospital in Addis for registration, blood tests, X rays and CT scans.
• Ensuring adequate nutrition for all patients throughout their stay
• Clerking patients who will stay at the Cheshire home pre-operatively
• Presentation of patients to the surgical team on their arrival to the cheshire and their departure
• Contacting the surgical team post op with any complications
• Participation in organisational development of FA at the Cheshire home as necessary.

Please send your CV and any other useful information to chris@facingafrica.org. If you have had any previous experience working in the developing world, please let us have details.

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